Wishingandhoping wrote:Quick question ladies... I am SOOOO constipated. Anyone else have this issue? If so, what worked for you? It's killing me!

Congrats on Team Blue Addy!

Will post more personals later and answer the QOTW! On my phone right now!

my doctor prescribed colace for me and it worked well. it takes a few days - but it does help.

have you tried eating yougurt? especially if you've had a recent course of antibiotics. yougurt with one of those acidopholus cultures can be helpful to restore the gut bacteria and help with digestion. then of course bran cerial for breakfast, and whole wheat bread and pasta for fiber. and plum juice and plums are good. diet in high veggies - those have lots of fiber.

hi ladies - nothing new here - except for a crazy day at work! and then i picked up my DS and he has a rash on his hand and knees so i want to take him to teh doctor. tomorrow my husband will take him. my husband is unemployed at the moment - this economy sucks - they call it the mancession - so many unemployed men. he has a consulting gig he is working on so he has flex hours. i am hoping that by this time next year he will have a fulltime job with insurance. and we are lucky to have baby #2 i think i will reevaluate myself working. i just find myself feeling so guilty at work - i am constantly working with a bunch of guys who talk about their kids going to soccer practice, etc and their wives taking them. i feel like i am not doing any of htat for my son. but then i am so hormonal - i dont know which way is up. and i by no means want to impose on other women that are working. firstly i dont know what the heck i want or what is right for our family. and secondly both my husband and i grew up with working moms and that worked out just fine. so i am very torn. and up till now i dont really have a choice so its almost easier in a way - i dont have to fret over it. but part of me does want to have time to take DS to teh doctor and cook more for him and spend more time with him. i love his daycare lady - she is amazing but the other boy that she is looking after is only there part time and i think that's maybe what i want to do. if we are blessed enough to have another baby next year and my DH's job then i will seriously think about that option. i dont think i can work part time in my current job but there are plenty of things that i can do part time - like tutoring. i am good at math and science - and i believe there is always tutoring demand for that. anyway - i am hugely hormonal. it was just such a blow that i am so freaking busy tomorrow that my husband has to take my DS to the doctor that i think it really impacted me. and also my DS didnt have good shoes to wear so i felt guilty about that - we stopped y babies r us and hopefully one of the 2 pairs i picked up there will work. as you can see i am very hormonal and tht combined with a nutty day just takes me over the edge.i think i made a mistake moving departments - i was in a quiet department that i knew what i was doing there - i moved to a new department and i often feel overwhelmed and that carries over to home.

OMG, i am a complete basket case. i thought about possibly taking a hpt - but i dont want to add any more drama to my life right now.i also have so few examples of working women at my division - its intense and its mostly guys. a few women that i know have live in nannies - but i dont want to do that.sorry to be a downer, ladies!please feel free to share your opinions or experiences. i am all over the place. i am also worried about burning bridges. so i wont do anything for another year. my boss is sooooo nice. he is the last guy i want to let down by leaving.

actually for my first time i thought i was going all natural - because i was afraid that epidural could damage my back. i spoke to my mom who is from russia (where dentists dont use novocaine ) and she is very tough! she told me back then they didnt use anything - she just pushed and pushed me out. so i thought i am tough i can do it well my contractions were ridiculously painful so at 2cm i got an epidural. but in all honestly my doc told me that my cervix was extra tight because of a laser procedure i had done a few years before for an abnormal pap. so she said that's why my contractions were extra painful because the cervix wasnt giving in. anyway i am glad i got the epi - and i labored for 16 hours and got to 9cm. but DS was sunny side up and he wouldnt fit through and it was getting late - so my doc made the c-secion call. so i ended up with a c-section after 16 hours of labor. afterwards i had the worst shakes from hormones crashing. but other than that the recovery was very swift.

this time - assuming there is a this time - i'll do a scheduled c-section. i am afraid of vbacs.

Hi Lyd - Ah the great work debate it is a tough call.....if you quit you will wonder if you made the right decision and if you don't you will wonder if you made the right decision. I quit my job to be a Mom and for the first while it was OK but after about 9 months I felt so blah that I knew I wasn't even doing DD any favors so I went back to work my company was thrilled to have me back....but that only lasted a month I missed her desperately so I left but we made a deal. I worked to complete the project I was on as an independent contractor and they would hire me for future gigs too if I was needed (which they have). I am lucky that I have a marketable trade (software programmer) so I just started pimping myself to all the companies I had worked for and clients and now it is a pretty good business I make my own schedule and work sometimes at night late but I am mostly there for my DD and I have found balance but it was difficult. What do you do? Is it something you could contract out? I find there is a need for temporary programers, product/project managers, and IT support. All of which can be accomplished at home through phone & internet. I am sure this isn't the only industry that does this especially in this economy, companies don't want to pay the overhead of full time employee. PM me if you want to discuss further.....I can give you some ideas to maybe walk away from your current job but with a contract to do some additional work at home on your schedule for them provided it is an industry that supports that. Don't fret too much about your son though everyone survives a working Mom or Dad it is life the question is does the Mom & Dad survive and that is the one you have to answer.....your son & new baby will be Ok but will you? Just some thoughts......

Hi Ladies - I am hoping it's ok to join you all on this forum. I have been lurking for a few days and you all seem like a great bunch that really care about supporting each other through this "process."

DH and I have a 5 year old DS from IVF and we just found out on 8/1 that I am pregnant from a FET with 5 day blasts. We transferred 2 excellent quality blasts and this time around I have been really in quite a bit of discomfort for the last 2 weeks which was very different than the first time around.

A little background - during my first pregnancy the first 4 months was pretty uneventful and what I had considered "normal." I had a little implantation spotting for a couple days (brown tinge), major food aversions, only ate fruits (mainly citrus), really heightened sense of smell but no pain or physical discomfort. I returned from a business trip to Spain, went in for my 19 week check and found out that I was a little more than 3 cm dilated and baby was on the way out - no pain and I had no idea any thing was wrong. I was admitted to the hospital that afternoon, had a cerclage placed by 7 am the next morning and was placed on complete bed rest in and out of the hospital for the next 5 months. I was only able to be upright for 15 mins a day and I was really miserable and scared with the 50% survival odds that I was given. The only saving graces were that I lost weight throughout (over 30lbs) and Wi-Fi was available in my hospital room Well in the end we were blessed with our ds and although we had always thought about trying again I was definitely gunshy.

The net: we finally agreed to try again and IVF worked again. With all the discomfort this time a round I have been really grumpy and then I saw quite a bit of brown blood on Monday. I called the doc on call and she advised that I go into the office the next day for the US as I was only a day away from what I had scheduled.

To my great surprise I found out that we are having 3 babies - a set of identical twins in one sac and a singleton in another. They all have heartbeats over 119 at 6wk1day.

Now all the discomfort makes sense. I am in total shock and I cannot stop thinking about my incompetent cervix, the high risk and the inevitable bed rest period - UGH!!

ttcnb - wow what a story! i wish you the best of luck!!! have you explored the option of TAC? there is a number of threads on this board about it. it is the best way to deal with incompetence cirvex from what i can tell.

Katieb - thank yo uso much for your feedback. i think you are right when you say that the kids will be fine no matter what i do - whether i stay home or work. most kids grow up with working moms dont they? so its really just my comfort level that i have to worry about. and i guess that makes it an easier decision.

i work in a corporate finance department - so play with spreadsheets for a living all day long. right now my work includes a lot of meetings with product managers - so i probably wont be able to do it from home as much. however, i could apply my skill in a different setting where it may be parttime.

i wanted to ask you ladies that have a lot of nieces or nephews or older children- how do afterschool programs work? i am wondering - how many kids stay for afterschool programs and how many get picked up by moms or dads that work part time? i am curious to see what the majority of people do.

ttcnb - WOW that is awesome!!!! Welcome to our group it is nice to have new mum's to be I not a pregnant Mom but cycled with most of these ladies over the past year at one time or another and after my last MC (miscarriage) I had almost given up adding to my family, when my DD birth mom called with the news that she is pregnant and would we like to adopt the baby. Of course we said yes....so I am just along of the ride wishing I was driving along with you all but happy to still get the prize at the end of our journey!

LYD - ya I guess finance would be tough to do from home but like you said you could do some other things. So you have some exploring to do I guess! I don't know much about after school programs but I do have one friend who uses them and basically it is like a extension of school (they are young pre-school & kindergarten) and I believe she can pick them up any time after a certain hour and they can stay til a certain hour. She once told me she liked it because it is usually teachers that do it.

AFM - Went to our almost 17 week ultrasound today....and guess what dates were wrong actually we are only 14 weeks 1 day along! So our new due date is February 14th! Only two weeks but we had to chuckle and US tech asked if we wanted to know sex if she could see it....she said she would only give us 80% probability at this point but we took it so we are joining TEAM PINK for now at least.......will have a full anatomy scan at 20 weeks which will be the last week of September first week of October. I will enjoy for now having another baby girl & see if that will be what sticks at the end of September!

Katieb - I think your experience is so special. It is definitely different but still so intimate and special. Thanks for allowing us to be a part of it.

Lyd10 - It would be almost unatural if you didn't question your work life balance after having your DS. I worked a 70-80 hour week before we had our DS, traveled 50 -60% and thought I was never going to be able to go back to working like that after having him. It was frightening as I am the main breadwinner but after going back I had to adjust to a bit of a new work and travel schedule to be more available and involved. I think I know that as a family we made the decision on roles and although sometimes I am sad if I can't make a school event here and there at the end of the day I look at the bigger picture and what I am doing for my family. When 3 more little ones enter the picture, I have no earthly idea how I will be able to cope

ttcnb- Welcome! You are preggo with triplets??? How exciting and scary at the same time. We are sending you a ton of luck and will be here with you all the way. What is your due date? I will add you to the list.

Katie- Congrats on being TEAM PINK! (at least for now). I think it is great that Em is going to have a little sis. What a special bond! That's a big swing in pregnancy dating. Was this the first ultrasound? Is the baby growing on pace? I'll update the due date for you sweet little valentine.

Ladies - So sorry I have been MIA....but I have been thinking of each and every one of you!

Lyd - So excited to see that beta on Monday....I am sure it will continue to double and you're on your way to an uneventful 8 more months of pregnancy

ttcnb - 3 babies!! Congrats!! I know I was stressed thinking about the possibility of 2 when we transferred 2 embryos so I can imagine that 3 may be a bit overwhelming. I wish you tons of R&R as much as possible in the months aheads.

Katieb- I think it's great your DD will have a baby sister to play with! Im sure she'll love having her and it'll be just like playing dolls!

As for everyone else...thanks for all the suggestions on how you shared your pregnancy with family/friends. As of now we are still undecided how we are going to tell our parents a week from tomorrow! DH is against anything crazy and just wants to come out and say "hey, we're having a baby!" Meanwhile, I wanted to do something creative...so we'll see where we end up. As for all the questions of the week I missed....what I do not like the most about being pregnant is the at least 1 trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night (which I assume will only get worse as we go!) What I am looking forward to most is having that belly and being able to share opening how excited we are to have this baby!! Birth plan - no idea! Definitely drugs and we decided that we will not call anyone until we already have the baby. I just want to experience it with DH and not have a whole crowd in the room/waiting room. We will most likely call my mom as she's half way across the country so that will give her time to catch a flight.

We have our final appointment with the RE tomorrow. I am really sad to be leaving them as they are such caring people that I enjoy seeing on a weekly basis. But I guess after almost 12 weeks...I have to go to the obgyn sometime!

Had my 18wk checkup today. Everything still looks great. The only thing is that I have a nasty stomach virus. So I am dosing up on Immodium. It looks like I get to work for 5 more weeks on a shorter sched. Instead of doing my 3 -12hr days I get cut to 8 hrs/day starting in 1 1/2 wks. I also know that the babies will prob be born in Dec, they wont let me go past 38wks no matter what so that puts delivery by the end of Dec!!!

Katie- Congrats on Team Pink! My only sibling is an older sister, so I love the idea of 2 girls!

Ttcnb- Wow! Congrats on the triplets! Welcome to the board!

Dallas- I'm so sorry that you have a stomach bug, but so glad to hear that everything is progressing well with the babies!

Dreams- Good to hear from you! I know what you mean about leaving your RE. That will be tough for me too.

Lyd- I am really looking forward to hearing your awesome beta on Monday! The work debate is tough. I don't have any children now, but I plan on continuing to work. DH and I both had working mothers, and I think we both turned put well! I may cut back a bit, but we'll see.

Bliss- I know you must be getting excited about learning the gender soon! Can't wait to hear what the "flavor" is!

AFM- Thanks for all of the constipation advice! I now have some Colace, so hopefully things will get moving soon! I'm trying to get in more fruits, veggies, and fiber too! As far as a birth plan, I don't really know yet. I definitely want drugs! My plan is to have DH, my mother, and my sister in the room. I think with twins they often make you deliver in an OR, so it will probably just be DH if things go as planned!